Gambling Addiction among Teenagers: Risk Factors, Protective Factors, Prevention
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18662/brain/15.1/534Keywords:
psychiatry, adolescents, addictions, gamblingAbstract
Gambling has recently become one of the major public health problems. Although most efforts are focused on adult gamblers, there is growing concern about teenagers and young adults being more vulnerable to gambling addiction. Gambling practices and opportunities have evolved to the point where they are widely available and seen as a socially acceptable form of entertainment while becoming increasingly attractive to young people. My aim in this paper was to identify risk factors, protective factors in gambling addiction in adolescents, and prevention methods for this type of addiction. With the help of data obtained from studies and specialized literature, I was able to highlight the most important features of this addiction among teenagers. Male sex, young age, alcohol and drug consumption, depression, and poor academic performance were identified as risk factors for gambling. In terms of protective factors, parental supervision, and high socioeconomic status are recognized. Considering that there is a significant prevalence of adolescent gambling and numerous adverse effects associated with it, prevention efforts such as awareness programs and a healthy family environment can be helpful.
References
Abdi, T. A., Ruiter, R. A., & Adal, T. A. (2015). Personal, social and environmental risk factors of problematic gambling among high school adolescents in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Journal of gambling studies, 31, 59-72 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-013-9410-9
Andrie, E. K., Tzavara, C. K., Tzavela, E., Richardson, C., Greydanus, D., Tsolia, M., & Tsitsika, A. K. (2019). Gambling involvement and problem gambling correlates among European adolescents: Results from the European Network for Addictive Behavior study. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 54, 1429-1441. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-019-01706-w
Blinn-Pike, L., Worthy, S. L., & Jonkman, J. N. (2010). Adolescent gambling: A review of an emerging field of research. Journal of Adolescent Health, 47(3), 223-236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2010.05.003
Bozzato, P., Longobardi, C., & Fabris, M. A. (2020). Problematic gambling behaviour in adolescents: prevalence and its relation to social, self-regulatory, and academic self-efficacy. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 25(1), 907-919 https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2020.1772842
Calado, F., Alexandre, J., Griffiths, M.D. (2017). Prevalence of adolescent problem gambling: A systematic review of recent research. J. Gambl. Stud. 33, 397-424
Kang, K., Ok, J. S., Kim, H., & Lee, K. S. (2019). The gambling factors related with the level of adolescent problem gambler. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(12), 2110. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16122110
Min, K. R., Kyo, J. K., & Sun, J. K. (2007). Psychosocial characteristics of internet gamblers in South Korea. Korean J. Health Psychol, 12, 21-40.
Paleologou, A., Lazaratou, H., Anagnostopoulos, D., Economou, M., Malliori, M., Papadimitriou, G., & Papageorgiou, C. (2019). Problem gambling and concurrent emotional/behavioral problems among Greek adolescents. Turkish Archives of Pediatrics/Türk Pediatri Arşivi, 54(3), 166. 10.14744/TurkPediatriArs.2019.56254
Yu, L., & Ma, C. M. S. (2019). Youth gambling in Hong Kong: Prevalence, psychosocial correlates, and prevention. Journal of Adolescent Health, 64(6), S44-S51 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2018.09.019
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 The Authors & LUMEN Publishing House

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant this journal right of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work, with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g. post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g. in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as an earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
BRAIN. Broad Research in Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience Journal has an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs
CC BY-NC-ND